Mindset Matters by Roberts Gemma Leigh;

Author:Roberts, Gemma Leigh;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kogan Page, Limited
Published: 2022-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Psychological safety

Pixar Animation Studios showcases a culture where failure is embraced, and team members feel safe and empowered to take risks. In fact, managers are explicitly advised it isn’t their job to prevent risk, which is a sentiment that has been replicated in few organizations in the past. Traditionally, a risk-adverse attitude has been perceived as the safe approach – a way to keep the business chugging along. As Jeff Bezos alluded to, taking a risk can be costly; in fact, most times it is costly. The payoffs, however, can be huge. In today’s ever-changing workplace, we don’t have the option to play it safe, do things the way they’ve always been done and avoid calculated risks.

There are two reasons this strategy won’t work today. The world is changing around us at a speed we’ve not encountered for decades. If we don’t respond, we will get left behind. Businesses will fail. Employees will find their skills obsolete. Second, the digital and technological landscape is evolving so quickly, if we choose not to keep up, we’ll fall behind competitors who are investing in that development. Whether you’re running a business or navigating your own career, these things matter.

With every choice there is a trade-off

If we need to adapt to the environment, to some extent we need to take risks. Where do you invest your energy when it comes to learning new skills and honing your knowledge? Where do you decide to invest your time to explore new opportunities, either for yourself or your business? And where do you invest your budget to make innovation a priority?

With every choice there is a trade-off, the things you can’t do. Maybe it’s choosing one project over another or focusing on developing one product over another. Perhaps it’s spending every spare hour you have studying and learning to take your career in the direction you want it to go, and forsaking rest for a period of time. With every new direction you take, there is the chance it may not go to plan; it’s likely you will make mistakes along the way, perhaps even feel like you’ve failed.

In today’s unpredictable and competitive work environment, the ability for managers to create psychological safety is critical. In her book The Fearless Organization, Amy Edmondson explains why you need team members to speak up – to support innovation and to prevent extreme business failures.17 Let’s look at what happens when you have a team that don’t feel psychologically safe. People don’t ask questions to clarify their understanding, they just try their best to get through what they think is expected of them. They don’t raise concerns if they see a near miss where things could have gone seriously wrong, or when they notice a change in what competitors are offering or clients want. Ultimately, those who don’t experience psychological safety at work do their utmost not to make any noise, not stand out either as a problem or as the person highlighting problems, and are less likely to feel empowered to make necessary changes to achieve goals in a complex and uncertain world.

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